Dead Cold by Jennifer Chase - Book Tour
Date Published: July 2, 2017
Publisher: JEC Press
Every Emily Stone Thriller is a stand-along novel.
From the multi-award winning series:
What happens when one California community has a disturbing spike in homicides? It catapults cops into a deadly game of murder. Frozen human body parts hideously displayed at the crime scenes offers a horrifying interpretation that only a sadistic serial killer could design—and execute.
On the hunt for a complex serial killer, vigilante detective Emily Stone must face her most daring case yet. Stone’s proven top-notch profiling skills and forensic expertise may not be enough this time.
Young and ambitious, Detective Danny Starr, catches the homicide cases and discovers that it will test everything he knows about police work and the criminal mind. Can he handle these escalating cases or will the police department have to call in reinforcements—the FBI.
Emily Stone’s covert team pushes with extreme urgency to unravel the grisly clues, while keeping their identities hidden from the police. With one last-ditch effort, Stone dangles someone she loves as bait to draw out the killer. She then forces the killer out of their comfort zone with her partner Rick Lopez, and with help from a longtime friend Jordan Smith. A revelation of the serial killer’s identity leaves the team with volatile emotions that could destroy them.
The killer continues to taunt and expertly manipulate the police, as well as Stone’s team, and as they run out of time—they leave behind everyone and everything—in Dead Cold.
Excerpt
PROLOGUE
ESCAPE WAS IMPOSSIBLE. TEARS STREAMED down her face as she sat in
the
darkness and waited
for the man to return. There was no
other choice—but to
wait.
She hadn’t eaten anything in three days and had only a limited amount of water—her
strength continued to fade with every hour. With her wrists and ankles secured with duct tape,
her skin stung with pain every time she struggled to move. At least the man had peeled the tape from
her eyes and mouth so
that she could see something besides pitch-blackness.
Even if she could escape, the only
way
to safety was jumping into the frigid water, but she could not swim and would drown
before ever
reaching the shore.
The only
thing thirteen-year-old Kayla Swanson thought about was home. Fond memories flashed
through her mind of her parents,
her
little brother, and her dog
Charlie. She was never
going to see them again. Their smiling
faces were forever etched in Kayla’s mind, and she constantly held them close to
her
heart.
The boat rocked, and seemed to sway
more
violently as the tide flooded in and out of the
harbor. Kayla could hear a consistent clanking noise above her as the boat rolled back and forth. The sound had a hypnotic quality, and kept her mind on something else besides when the man
would return
and what he would
do next.
Her lips were dry and cracked as she bordered on dehydration. Even her tears dried on her cheeks, leaving
her
skin stiff and drawn. Her body began to shake, not only from fear, but also because of
the extreme exhaustion
and the constant dampness all around
her.
The boat rocked more, but this time it shifted from the opposite sides. Kayla heard soft footsteps above, which she knew wasn’t her captor’s heavy walk. She strained her eyes in the
darkness and
thought she saw a thin
shadow stealthily move along the upper
deck.
Was it a ghost?
Kayla remembered a television series where a team of people hunted ghosts and they had
said
that ghosts could
occupy any type of space, house, property, and
even a boat.
She blinked her eyes several times and hoped that she could catch a glimpse of the ghost
again. With every ounce of declining
strength, Kayla scooted her
body closer to the narrow stairs leading to the upper deck.
Painfully craning her neck,
she
strained to see something up in
the
darkness.
The dark
shadowed areas played
tricks on her
eyes—it was there,
then
it
wasn’t.
She waited for several minutes. Nothing appeared.
The only sounds she heard were the usual boat noises she had grown accustomed
to hearing.
Whatever she thought she heard was gone now. It was most likely her imagination trying
to give her
some hope and a few moments break from her
dire
circumstances.
As she relaxed her shoulders and leaned back against the wall, the reality of her world pressing down hard. Tears streamed down her face. She tasted the saltiness that settled around
her mouth. Her last moments were approaching, and
there was nothing she could do.
Kayla felt her pulse relax and
a strange peacefulness overcame her—even
if it was for only a moment.
It
was an overwhelming calm that gave her strength
for what was next.
He was coming back.
She closed her
eyes,
but the only thing that came to mind was the man
who had grabbed her.
His dark
eyes.
His hefty strength groping at her body.
His horrible sour breath.
About the Author
Jennifer Chase is a multi award-winning author and consulting criminologist. She has authored eight crime fiction novels, including the multiple award-winning Emily Stone thriller series along with a screenwriting workbook.
Jennifer holds a Bachelor degree in police forensics and a Master's degree in criminology. These academic pursuits developed out of her curiosity about the criminal mind as well as from her own experience with a violent sociopath, providing Jennifer with deep personal investment in every story she tells. In addition, she holds certifications in serial crime and criminal profiling. She is an affiliate member of the International Association of Forensic Criminologists.
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2 Comments
Thank you so much for hosting DEAD COLD today :)
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